Patriots — Five Things We Learned from Sunday's Game

Monday

Oct 14, 2013 at 12:20 AMOct 14, 2013 at 6:35 AM

Even though the vast majority of fans at Gillette Stadium thought the game was over, Tom Brady and the Patriots had different ideas. In a game that became an instant classic, the Patriots walked away with a 5-1 record and their biggest win of the season against a perennial Super Bowl contender, knocking off the previously undefeated New Orleans Saints, 30-27. Here are the five things we learned from Sunday night's unbelievable last-second victory:

ANDREW TORNETTA

Even though the vast majority of fans at Gillette Stadium thought the game was over, Tom Brady and the Patriots had different ideas. In a game that became an instant classic, the Patriots walked away with a 5-1 record and their biggest win of the season against a perennial Super Bowl contender, knocking off the previously undefeated New Orleans Saints, 30-27. Here are the five things we learned from Sunday night's unbelievable last-second victory:

It was a game the Patriots had no business winning. The Saints entered Sunday undefeated and looked like one of the best teams in the NFL. New England came in off an ugly loss to the Bengals with its most impressive victory being against a Falcons team that is 1-4 and also lost to the New York Jets. Coming into the game, we knew who the Saints were but we weren't sure who the Patriots were. Well, we do now.

The Patriots are simply a team that can find a way to win even under the darkest of circumstances. Playing without your best offensive weapon in Rob Gronkowski and have your top wideout (Danny Amendola) get knocked out in the second half? No big deal — they will still put up 30 points against a defense that was allowing 14 per game coming in. Playing without your defensive anchor in Vince Wilfork and lose both Aqib Talib and Jerod Mayo in the game? No problem — they will still slow down an explosive Saints offense and make Drew Brees earn every thing he gets.

This was the type of victory that propels teams to much bigger and better things. It was a statement win that shows a lot about the character of this team and how good they can truly be once they get everyone healthy and on the same page.

"I'm really proud of our team. The Saints are a real good team and I just felt like our team really battled," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "There are so many guys that made big plays for us today you just can't rattle them all off. It was a good team win."

When Brady launched an ill-advised deep pass to a double-covered Edelman that was subsequently intercepted, the biggest takeaway of the game could have been that this may be the beginning of the end for the Hall of Famer. It's no secret that Brady has looked very un-Brady-like for most of the season, but seeing him throw a pass like that in such a critical situation was shocking to say the least. However, he just needed one more chance.

Getting the ball back with 1:13 left on their own 30-yard line and no timeouts, Brady turned back into Mr. Clutch. Three straight completions to Edelman, Austin Collie and Aaron Dobson drove the Patriots down to the Saints' 32-yard line with 30 seconds left. Even from way up in the press box, you could still see he had that unmistakable "there is no way we are losing this game" look in his eye. Brady wasn't making excuses or putting the blame on anyone else. Even when Edelman dropped what would have been a 30-yard gain, Brady didn't yell, he just got back into the huddle and found Collie on a fourth-down play to move the chains. Following a spike to stop the clock, Brady dropped a dime in the back of the end zone to his rookie receiver Kenbrell Thompkins, who has made a habit of making big catches and made another one Sunday, coming down with a 17-yard catch to give the Patriots the victory with five seconds on the clock.

It was a surgical game-winning drive by a quarterback who has done it so many times over his career (38 to be exact). However, this one seemed a little different because this was the one that just stuck it to everyone out there that had the thought cross through their mind that maybe, just maybe, Brady had lost a step or two.

"No matter how you've played to that point, you have a situation, and regardless what happened over the course of the game, you have a chance. When the game is on the line, you see what guys are made of," Brady said. "That was great situational football and a great win against a really good team. We're 5-1 and we're just grinding."

Under the circumstances, this may have been the Patriots' most impressive defensive effort of the season. Going up against one of the most high-powered offenses in the league, the New England defense was stifling for most of the game. Jimmy Graham, the best tight end in the league that actually suits up on game day, was invisible. Six targets and no catches for a guy that entered Sunday with four straight games of over 100 yards receiving and six touchdowns on the season. Brees, a quarterback that plays like he's in a video game, threw for just 111 yards and led his team to seven points in the first half. However, it was at that point the injuries started piling up.

Wilfork is already out for the season, but Talib, who was in the midst of an absolutely dominating performance matched up with Graham, left the game with a hip injury and did not return. Then, on one of the Saints' final drives, Mayo injured his shoulder and also left for the remainder of the contest. It's tough to put much blame on a defense that was playing without its three top players for letting up a go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes left, considering how well they played up to that point.

When healthy, the Patriots defense looks like it can be special. Talib is playing the best football of his career, shutting down anyone and everyone that has the tough task of dealing with him, and Mayo is the heart of the defense in the middle, a key leader especially with Wilfork already out. If either one of these guys miss extended periods of time, we may be getting flashbacks to the defenses of the last few years.

Over the first five games of the season, Stevan Ridley has been arguably the biggest dissapointment on the Patriots. After a breakout 2012 season, Ridley looked to have taken a huge step back this year, totaling just 174 yards (43 yards per game) with no touchdowns entering Sunday. However, after missing last week's game with an injury, Ridley may have taken the time off to get his act back together as he showed up against the Saints with a 2012-esque performance. Ridley took over the lead running back role, recording 20 carries (13 more than Legarrette Blount) for 96 yards, rushing for 4.8 yards per carry and also punching in a pair of touchdown runs.

It was a much needed game from Ridley and may have been enough to get him right back on track and return to the dominant runner we were accustomed to seeing last season. With Shane Vereen injured, Ridley is far and away the top running back on the team and should be used much more heavily than the others as long as he can keep putting up performances like he did on Sunday.

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't (frustrating), but I just have to keep plugging away," Ridley said. "It's not always going to go as we want it to, but at the end of the day, I've just got to keep pushing and keep working hard and I can't lie, I'm happy about the outcome of today's game."

The win may have bought him an extra week or two, but the fact is that Rob Gronkowski is quickly entering Derrick Rose territory for the Patriots. Rose infamously sat out all of last season for the Chicago Bulls, despite being cleared by team doctors and practicing with the team for the final few months. Publicly, his team backed him, but privately there were doubts about his commitment. We are approaching this for Gronkowski and the Patriots, as week after week the team watches its star tight end light it up in practice before being inactive on game day. According to ESPN, Gronkowski was described as dominant while playing on the scout team during practices this week.

Of course, the Patriots are going to continue what they have been doing and simply wait for Gronkowski to announce that he is ready to go. However, with the injuries to key players on both the offense and defense piling up, it would obviously be extremely helpful to have your superstar tight end back on the field producing.

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